Ensemble Mew Mew
Ensemble Mew Mew is a fan series made by Annika. Its themes include music, dancing, and teamwork, among many others. Plot :The series takes place in two separate periods of time, but begins in the second. It is only through a series of interactions between old and new characters that the previous events are made known. The first portion of the plot involves the Ensemble Mews, the main protagonist Mew team of the series. The second involves a new girl coming into the picture after the team was forced to split up. Both parts involve a fight against an alien threat—a team of Danseurs called the Diaboliques who have made the Earth their new home and want to control it. :An artifact called the Rainbow Pearl was found by a scientist named Cadence Harper shortly before the Diaboliques arrived, and she used it to further research on animal DNA first conducted by a friend, Viola Roth, the mother of one of the main Mews. Viola died when the pearl fell to Earth. When it fell off the ship of the Diaboliques, it interrupted a meeting between the two women. Cadence actually picked it up when she deemed it harmless, but it expelled such enormous amounts of power in her hands that it caused her to lose her arm and took Viola’s life. She vowed to continue her friend’s work afterward, and knew that there might be more trouble ahead for her with such a powerful artifact being in her possession :The remaining plot involves the creation of a Mew team to fight the incoming alien threat, the downfall and split of these Mews, and a new girl being introduced into the story that ends up partnering with one of the first Ensemble Mews to finally take down the Danseur threat. The Ensemble Mew Project :The Diaboliques had reached Earth just after the Rainbow Pearl was found and began to search for it, simultaneously deciding to adopt the planet as their new home. They tormented humans in their hunt for the pearl and proved to be difficult to defeat. So, Cadence used Viola’s initial research and her own study of the pearl, alongside a third scientist and friend named Celestia Sweet, to try to find a way to defeat them. Their efforts would eventually become the Ensemble Mew Project. :While the scientists were still trying to study the pearl, Viola’s daughter, Willow, came across the lab and found what the women were doing. She had been adopted by them as their godchild since she had no father or immediate family, but they were using her mother’s laboratory in the basement of her house to conduct their testing in secret. One day, Willow discovered the lab and the pearl while clutching her cat Mitzi to her chest, whom she had with her often since she was timid and relied on the cat's companionship. Oddly, the pearl reacted to Willow as she approached it and emitted power once more, however it did not hurt her. Instead, it transformed her into a Mew, and when the two scientists discovered this, they realized the potential power of the pearl and worked to create the Ensemble Mew project. They began to pair Viola’s work on animal DNA and their study of the pearl. :With this project, the women would use the Rainbow Pearl Cadence found to infuse several subjects with its power and animal DNA to enhance their bodies and make them strong enough to fight the aliens. They were unable to find subjects right away, but Willow accidentally brought some friends to them after she lost control of her powers at school and her high emotions caused her to turn into a cat in front of them—a side effect from being directly influenced by the pearl and having regularly sporadic emotions. The familiar glowing light from her transformation had caught the attention of the Diaboliques, and they realized this girl had the power of the pearl inside of her. When they gave chase, Willow and the girls fled to safety in Willow’s mother’s laboratory, and It was there that they were introduced to the project. Willingly, they offered to help and were transformed into Mews, forming the Ensemble Mews team. The Rainbow Pearl See the 'objects and weapons' page for more information on the Pearl. :The Rainbow Pearl is a strange artifact that fell from the Diaboliques’ ship and entered the atmosphere, eventually landing in Lune City, the main location of the story. It is not until the pearl reacts in their stolen ship that they ever realize the pearl has immense power. :On Earth, the pearl was discovered by Viola and Cadence, who were outside together having a conversation. It seemed safe to touch at first, so Cadence carefully picked it up. The Pearl reacted highly to her once she held it, however, and it exploded in a burst of powerful light energy. She tossed it away, but the power it expelled was so great that it tore her arm off and hurt Viola, killing her. :Cadence understood immediately what this pearl was capable of and that it reacted to strong emotions, as she was experiencing feelings for Viola during their conversation. After losing her friend, she stifled her emotions after realizing she needed to remain in a calm state in order to not risk another accident. She found that the pearl was harmless when it wasn’t active, so she kept it in Viola’s old lab to study it throughout the story. Celestia tried to help Cadence by making her a prosthetic arm and continued to help her in her research when possible. :The Rainbow Pearl is unusual to the Danseurs and the Humans alike. It was a very rare occurrence—the pearl fell from the sky in Arcenciel and was found by some of the planet's elite members. Nothing like it had ever fallen from the sky before, but it looked similar to the material used for their major city’s biggest residential area for the elite, the Grande Fleur (they are only superficially similar, though). The pearl’s power was never discovered by the Danseurs, as nobody had managed to activate it. instead of studying it, the society’s leader had it encased in glass for decoration, to be displayed in the Fleur for all to ogle at. The pearl was considered beautiful, highly prized by all the species for its rarity and beauty. :How the pearl came to exist was never made known, though some theorized that it was simply a natural occurrence of elements binding together in their sky over time and that another pearl or similar object could possibly appear again sometime in the future. After the Ensemble Mews :The girls failed to stop the Diaboliques. Their leader, Étoile, kidnapped one of the scientists as leverage to get her hands on the pearl. She succeeded, and used the pearl to take back the powers from the Ensemble Mews and absorb them. She missed Willow, who had run away in fear instead of trying to help her friends. Étoile became a Mew herself, and she used this newfound form to further enforce her law on the humans, building a society in her own way. :Powerless, the Ensemble Mews split and went their own way. Society remained intact, but was now under strict supervision and control by Étoile and her Diaboliques team. She had people so afraid to go against her that they worked for her, and thus she had an army of officers who kept a strict eye on things to make sure everyone was complying with her laws. Because the Diaboliques were so focused on catching Willow, they decided to stay in Lune City, searching until they had what they wanted. :Willow, who'd gone into hiding after shamefully fleeing, returned home later to find both scientists still trying to find ways to stop Étoile. She offered to help, changing her hair color and length to remain hidden, and continued to train to become stronger. She confronted the Diaboliques prematurely after only a short while of training with a Mew form that had evolved as she had, but failed to stop them. However, she managed to break off a shard from the pearl, which Étoile had kept on the weapon she obtained in her Mew form. While she failed to stop the Diaboliques, Willow managed to flee with the shard, which she took to the scientists who now had something to work with. A New Partner This is where the story officially begins. :Willow tried to stay hidden while helping Cadence and Celestia. She decided to come back to her old high school after a year or so in hopes of stealing some supplies from the labs and offices there. By now, Willow had learned to control her cat form and voluntarily transform in and out of it, and she used his to inconspicuously sneak around the school to steal supplies. :While she tried to lie low, a girl named Marianne Richardson noticed and was drawn to her. She tried to befriend Willow, who kept denying the girl’s advances and continued her after-school thefts. However, Marianne caught Willow turning into a cat and running away with a bag of supplies one evening after returning to her biology lab to get her textbook she left behind. :She confronted Willow about it later, but a teacher heard their conversation and reported it to officers, who later surrounded the girls with the intent to take them to Étoile for questioning. Refusing to confront her and having to also protect Marianne, Willow “kidnapped” her and stole a car, driving them both to her base of operations to hide. Knowing that she was now in danger, Marianne was invited to stay with the others. She learned about the Ensemble Mews and their split, and decided she wanted to help. :She was not allowed to become a Mew, but was given animal DNA to test her compatibility in the case the group truly needed her to be. Unfortunately, her body did not seem to react to the DNA whatsoever. The pearl shard in the lab did react highly to her presence, though, much as it did with Willow years ago. Still, Cadence refused to let Marianne become a Mew in fear of losing the shard or rendering it powerless, and she had Marianne control her excitability in order to prevent any accidents. :While she couldn’t do much, Marianne offered to help Willow steal supplies from other places, now that the school was off-limits. Refusing her at first, it was only after the girls got to know one another that Willow decided to take Marianne with her during a run. While they collaborated well at first, on one run, the Diaboliques had caught on to them after personally investigating the school upon the girls' escape, and they attacked. :They caught Marianne who failed to run away, and in desperation, Willow ran to grab the pearl shard from the lab and returned to find her friend. As she was being taken to Étoile by the other two Diaboliques, Willow ran up in her cat form and threw the pearl shard at Marianne. It became embedded in her body, and reacted with her very strongly. The shard transformed her into a Mew, giving her the strength to fight back. :Willow fought with Marianne to subdue the aliens, then fled with her back to the lab. After realizing how powerful the two were together, the scientists found that they now had a new chance at defeating the Diaboliques. Characters Scientists *'Viola Roth': Willow’s mother and main contributor to the Ensemble Mew Project. She had proposed an idea to inject humans with animal DNA to potentially enhance their abilities, but was turned down several times by superiors. Her research later served as the basis for the Ensemble Mew Project. *'Cadence Harper': Viola’s close friend. She “adopts” Willow after losing Viola and uses Viola's research with Rainbow Pearl to create the Ensemble Mew Project. *'Celestia Sweet': An easygoing, energetic young scientist, prodigal for her unusual but functional ideas. She is the friend of the other scientists and helps Cadence with the Ensemble Mew Project and raising Willow after Viola’s death. The Ensemble Mews *'Willow Roth': A shy young girl who is one of the first to become a Mew. She is the daughter of Viola Roth, but is adopted by Cadence and Celestia later on after her mother’s death. She becomes stronger and more courageous after breaking away from her team, but still struggles in her relationships with others. *'Klara De Jongh': A senior, laid back high school student who falls into the Ensemble Mew team after an incident with Willow led to the Danseurs coming after her. She becomes Mew Licorice. *'Daniella “Danny” Gillespie': A younger, high-energy high school student who falls into the Ensemble Mew team after an incident with Willow led to the Danseurs coming after her. She becomes Mew Tangerine. *'Vianney Soubrette': A senior, rich and classy high school student who falls into the Ensemble Mew team after an incident with Willow led to the Danseurs coming after her. She becomes Mew Blackberry. *'Marianne Richardson': A senior high school student with a curious and lively nature who gets in the middle of Willow, Cadence, and Celestia’s fight against the Danseurs after witnessing Willow turn into a cat. She becomes Mew Meringue. Diaboliques *'Étoile': The head of the Diaboliques who decided to leave her home planet with her teammates. She becomes a Mew, but does not have a Mew name. *'Pas': The second-in-command of the Diaboliques. She is a methodical, calculated, and concise individual who contributes carefully constructed and calculated plans to the team. *'Sissonne': The third of the Diaboliques, a younger child who is more sporadic and sprightly. She joins the Diaboliques for no reason other than because she does not enjoy her life back home, due to high expectations placed upon her. She contributes improvised plans and different tactical perspectives to the team. Setting This is only a brief list. See the 'locations' page for more details Lune City :The main setting of the series and where the Diaboliques set up their base. Several of the characters grew up there, save for Willow, Marianne, and Klara. It is a fictional city not set in any specific place in our world, but it seems to reflect an American setting given the architecture style and the school system used. It is ambiguous otherwise. Willow's Home :The second primary setting of the series. It is the home Willow moved to before becoming a Mew and also acts as the scientist’s base of operations, as it has an underground lab. It was once a café before being turned into a humble home. Aside from the lab, Viola was drawn to it due to its location by a high hill overlooking the city. Lune High School :The main school that all the Mews had attended. It is a prestigious school with highly intelligent students, and it has a variety of resources most schools do not because of the types of people and their work that the city draws in. Arcenciel :The home planet of the Danseurs, where the Diaboliques are from. It is a brightly lit planet with a rainbow-tinted sky that looks similar to the Rainbow Pearl. Music For a list of series music with descriptions (character songs, attacks, scenes) please see the 'soundtrack' page Other Themes Aside from the general dancing and musical themes of each team, there are a few other themes present in the series that recurs in most characters Loss :Most of the characters have, in some way, lost someone close to them. Whether it is a romantic partner, friend, or parent, most all the characters in the Ensemble Mew team have undergone some form of loss. Loss in this case also does not have to mean death—some people lose their motivations, some lose things precious to them to circumstance, and others may lose hope or liveliness. Passion :This is in the non-romantic sense—most every individual in the series has a passion for something, typically an activity. Some characters have passions for places, some for concepts, and others simply for styles or aesthetics. Regardless of what it is, almost all characters have a high passion for something that they cling to, either to distract them or to simply make themselves or others happy. Love :This can be in the platonic or romantic sense. Every character has a relationship to someone that makes them very close to them. This can take the form of other bonds, such as mother-daughter love between Viola and Willow, or love of a friend. Vianney and Danny, for example, have a very close friendship and an enduring platonic love for one another despite their huge differences and tendency to argue. Loneliness :With loss often comes loneliness, and every character in the series undergoes some form of loneliness or other emotional agony as a result of loss or hardship. For many, this follows the loss of people's individual parents or guardians, and for others it involves the loss of a friend, either to death or simply to circumstance. Growth :Several of the characters undergo growth, typically of their character. Willow is one of the major reflectors of this theme, as she shifts between personalities over time and learns to outgrow old tendencies that hindered her before. Some other characters may grow their relationships with one another, and others may grow in more subtle ways. Parallels :Some of the characters parallel one another, either in their themes, their histories, or their personalities. This is especially seen between the Diaboliques and the scientists, whom each undergo similar circumstances within their lives despite some stark differences. Trivia *The original plot involved the three Danseurs trying to escape Earth after landing there in order to take revenge on their planet. They'd been shut out by their people forcefully and jettisoned via ship. However, the Rainbow Pearl was actually a device they needed to get off of Earth as a power source for their own ship, and it had been taken by humans to be used to defend against the aliens. *A second draft of the plot involved Étoile by herself and trying to rule over the human race. Instead of the girls actually being created from the Rainbow Pearl, it was the shard itself that gave them their power—Étoile had actually come with the pearl and the piece accidentally broke off. She had been hunting for it in order to actually be able to stop the Mews from defeating her by absorbing their power. *I liked the idea of having music-oriented characters fighting dancing-oriented characters, which is why the Mews and the Danseurs have the themes they do! Created by AnnikaDoll Category:Annika's Pages Category:Ensemble Mew Mew Category:Stories Category:Series Category:AUs Category:Story Hubs